Category: teenage fiction

Heartstopper Volume 1 by Alice Oseman

Heartstopper: Volume 1Charlie and Nick are at the same school, but they’ve never met … until one day when they’re made to sit together. They quickly become friends, and soon Charlie is falling hard for Nick, even though he doesn’t think he has a chance.

But love works in surprising ways, and Nick is more interested in Charlie than either of them realised. Heartstopper is about love, friendship, loyalty and mental illness.

It encompasses all the small stories of Nick and Charlie’s lives that together make up something larger, which speaks to all of us.

It was cute and funny. I really enjoyed. K.G. (S3) *****

Heartstopper Volume 2 by Alice Oseman

Heartstopper: Volume 2Nick and Charlie are best friends. Nick knows Charlie’s gay, and Charlie is sure that Nick isn’t. But love works in surprising ways, and Nick is discovering all kinds of things about his friends, his family … and himself. Heartstopper is about friendship, loyalty and mental illness. It encompasses all the small stories of Nick and Charlie’s lives that together make up something larger, which speaks to all of us.

It was really heartwarming and adorable. K.G. (S3) *****

Black Cairn Point by Claire McFall

Heather agrees to a group camping holiday with Dougie and his friends because she’s desperate to get closer to him.9781471404870
But when the two of them disturb a pagan burial site above the beach, she becomes certain that they have woken a malevolent spirit.
Something is alive out there in the pitch-black dark, and it is planning to wreak deadly revenge.
One year later Heather knows that she was very lucky to escape Black Cairn Point but she is still waiting for Dougie to wake from his coma.
If he doesn’t, how will she prove her sanity, and her innocence?

Amazing story. Well Written! EM (S3) *****

See How They Run by Ally Carter

See how they runGrace thought finding her mother’s killer would bring her peace.
But the truth has only made her a target. On Embassy Row, trust is a luxury. Death is a very real threat. And a girl like Grace should be very careful about which secrets she brings to light…

I thought this book was really good because it’s page turning. It makes you want to read more which I think books are meant to do. CS (S2) *****

After Obsession by Carrie Jones & Steven E. Wedel

After Obsession is no ordinary paranormal romance, with alternate chapters written by two authors – Carrie Jones and Steven E. 9781408818275Wedel – who present the story from both the boy’s and girl’s point of view. Aimee and Alan are two teens who are in touch with spirits. But after a misguided experience with a ouija board, their friend Courtney invites a ghost into her life… one that doesn’t want to leave. Can the two friends exorcise Courtney’s demons, and their own? A great read for Maggie Stiefvater fans aged 12 and over.

It was very good and interesting. RF (S2) ****

 

Dark Spell by Gill Arbuthnott

15-year-old Callie Hall has just found out she’s a witch, and things keep going wrong. Sometimes her mind seems to make things happen, things she can’t control. She can set fire to things without a match, and when she’s angry people can get hurt.
Her friend Josh understands she’s a bit weird, but it’s only on a dark and dangerous visit to the tunnels under the ruins of St Andrews’ Castle that he realises just how strange she really is. Something comes back with Callie — in Callie — something she can’t escape. Can Callie control her power long enough to send back the darkness, before it takes over her life? And will Josh ever understand her secret? A brilliant, engrossing teen fantasy from the author of Winterbringers and The Keeper’s Daughter.

It is a really gripping book and I would recommend it. (S1) *****

Intriguing, mysterious & good. (S1) ****1/2

Ferryman by Claire McFall

When teenager Dylan pulls herself free from a train wreck and emerges onto an almost deserted Scottish hillside, she believes she is the only survivor. Seeing the figure of a boy on the bank she enlists his help. But Tristan is no ordinary passerby, and Dylan soon learns that instead of being the only survivor of the wreck, she is in fact the only fatality.

 And, Tristan is no normal teenage boy – he is her ferryman tasked with guiding her through the wasteland to her afterlife. As the pair journey further together through the dangerous wraith-infested wasteland, they fall deeply in love. When they reach the other side, Tristan promises to cross over with Dylan, but when she steps across the threshold and turns back, he is not there. Confronted with life without Tristan, Dylan vows to find him, but that means traversing the dangerous wasteland without a guide.

I thought this book was great. I loved the story and the characters. This is a book well worth reading. P (S1) *****

Not my kind of book but I may buy it for somebody else maybe, but not me. J (S2) ****1/2

The Book of Doom by Barry Hutchison

There’s panic up in Heaven. They have mislaid the Book of Doom – the most important object in existence. Oopsy. They think Satan might have stolen it, the sneaky little devil, so to save the world – plus, you know, quite a lot of embarrassment, fifteen year old Adam and his angelic guide Angelo are sent to retrieve it.

I really enjoyed this book. There are lots of details and it’s really funny. I would really recommend this book. J (S2) *****

This book is confusing but its very good and interesting. I (S2) ***

It was an awesome book you don’t want to put it down. I would recommend this book. 😛 J (S2) ****

The Seeing by Diana Hendry

The second world war is over in the quiet town of Norton. When wild, dangerous, break-all-the-rules Natalie arrives, thirteen-year-old Lizzie is drawn irresistibly to the new girl from the wrong side of the tracks. Desperate for Natalie’s friendship and respect, Lizzie soon discovers a side of the town – and of herself – that she had never imagined.
As the girls grow closer, Natalie and her strange, eerie brother, Philip, reveal a shocking secret. For Philip has a second sight, and all around them he sees evil – ‘left-over Nazis’ lying in wait until the time is right for revenge. Natalie and Philip believe it’s up to them to root these people out of Norton.
Lizzie is swept up in what starts as a thrilling game – but the consequences of Philip’s ‘gift’ quickly spiral into disaster.

It was OK. Beginning was very slow & about the middle something happened which made me think that it mught actually become exciting but I was wrong. This book was boring and (did not) grip me at all. Suitable for ages 9 or 10 up to 13, I think.  L (S2) **1/2 

It was a dark out of the ordinary book in a good way. I (S1) ****

I thought the start was a bit creepy but it got more interesting later in the book. I (S1) ***

It is a good book but I don’t really like it because that isn’t the kind of book that I like. J (S1) ***

Exciting. Keep wanting to read on. J (S2) ****

Good book but very slow. J (S3) ***

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

Two young women become unlikely best friends during WWII, until one is captured by the Gestapo. Only in wartime could a stalwart lass from Manchester rub shoulders with a Scottish aristocrat, one a pilot, the other a special operations executive. Yet whenever their paths cross, they complement each other perfectly and before long become devoted to each other.
But then a vital mission goes wrong, and one of the friends has to bail out of a faulty plane over France. She is captured by the Gestapo and becomes a prisoner of war. The story begins in “Verity’s” own words, as she writes her account for her captors.
Truth or lies? Honour or betrayal? Everything they’ve ever believed in is put to the test…

It is a very good book but it takes too long and is a bit confusing sometimes and takes a while to get into it. But it is a very interesting book. S (S2) ***

Very confusing at the start and may confuse other readers. M (S2) *

It was good but it was a bit confusing. S (S2) ****

A brilliant book, very interesting. I couldn’t put it down. A (S1) *****

Boring book. It’s a bit confusing. P (S2)

It was a very good book. It was a bit confusing but if you read to the end you would have got it. M (S1) ****